petty knowes cottage

Our skies are so truly dark, that together with Northumberland National Park and Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society, we have been awarded Gold Tier Dark Sky Park status by the International Dark Skies Association (IDA) in December 2013 – the highest accolade the IDA can give.

Our dark sky zone, known as Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, is the largest area of protected night sky in Europe.

It is the first of its kind in England and one of the largest in the world, joining the likes of Death Valley and Big Bend Dark Sky Parks in the USA.﻿﻿